Reviews by Carb-Overlord:

This is a rather enjoyable pale ale. Please note that pale ales, IPA's etc are on the low end of my spectrum for beer likes, which will certainly bias this review.

Appearance: Outstanding pour. Very rich amber color, opaque in nature, with an initial one inch head. The appearance his very appetizing. Head quickly foams down to a thin line.

Smell: There is a slight citrus undertone to the more powerful straight hops aroma. Not overwhelming, but certainly enticing.

Taste: There is a subtle sweetness hiding under the hoppy bitterness. I think the bitterness is a little overpowering for my tastes, it hits quite hard initially, I can detect a citrusy sweetness underneath, and then it finishes quite bitter. The bitterness lingers in the mouth 30 seconds after the last swallow. I understand this is in the IPA spectrum, but that is not the flavor I appreciate to linger in a beer. Some would score this quite high for their fondness of this quality.

Mouthfeel: A rather effervescent beer; sparkly and pops in the mouth with every drink.

Overall: This is a very good craft beer, I would certainly share this among those who love their hoppy bitter beer.

More User Reviews:

Presentation: 12 oz brown long neck with no freshness date to be found.

Appearance: Dark amberish orange with an awesome off white head ... rocky, dense and sticky all over.

Smell: Lots of citrius and a sweet floral aroma. Clean in the nose with hints of malt and fruity esters also.

Taste: Medium bodied with a slightly chewy and textured mouth feel, nice mellow malt flavour holds up to a huge pile of juicy citric hop. Hop bitterness is great ... not too much though enough bite to be assertive. Mild fruity esters and a faint caramel malt are in the backround. Lots more hop flavour in the finish, slowly fading and letting a lightly toasted malt taste through.

Notes: Well built and one of the best ales in the US. Hop character is above the rest ... a must buy.

Pours a deep, clear orange color with a hefty off-white head that lasts forever.

The smell seemed a little muted to me, but caramel sweetness, copious citrus with orange and grapefruit. Malty, sweet, a bit of yeast, and I think I can smell peach or apricot.

The flavor and feel are hard to separate. This beer is luxuriously smooth in the mouth feel and the flavors are incredibly well-blended. Obvious grapefruit, some pine, orange. Caramel sweetness. Very mild bitterness, slightly dry, carbonation is on the money. Just a small taste of peppery spice that cleans things up nicely and leaves a nice, lingering taste.

This is a fantastic drinking beer, recommended, and I would enjoy it again, no doubt.

Needs to be available in a can. It's a tragedy - a literal tear-jerking, lip-quivering, crying chick-flick shame - when your buddy knocks an unopened Alpha King off the island or tailgate to the hard surface below, leaving the distressed beverage to the German shorthair retriever ... Not that a good dog doesn't deserve a taste after a long slog in the Dakotas...

Awesome Pale Ale! Definitely agree with the citrus hoppiness and caramel sweetness. Had hints of grapefruit, such a solid brew! I'm happy to be able to get this through ordering online at The Beer Temple!

Loving my malts, I'm braced for this beer.
I taste it.
How do they do that ?
68 IBU is above my tolerance level and.... I like it.
As brewers tell us, it is hard for the malts to balance with lots of hops.
This one does. I'm glad it does. In fact, it is such a pleasurable ale, that I don't mind being wrong.
I since have tried to buy a six pack for every summer.
And if I can't get around to finishing it, I give it as presents.
It makes up for the rest of my personality.

Slightly hazy orange-gold, almost copper, with a pale toffee-colored cap that is somewhat stiff and resembles softly beaten egg whites. The crown has good staying power and deposits quite a bit of lace in thick rings and sheets.

The nose is citrusy hoppy. Not overpowering, not the 'olfactory bomb' that is Stone IPA. The flavor has a citrusy hop bite, but there's also plenty of malt to balance things out. Flavors include grapefruit and orange peel primarily. Delicious. The mouthfeel is plenty smooth, no complaints here. Drinkability is high... nice and smooth, very well-balanced.

Alpha King does seem more like an IPA than a true pale ale. I could definitely make this a regular in my rotation if it was more available. I plan to pick up a couple of fresh sixers (at the brewery) next week.

The labeling on the six-pack caught my with the crazy looking king on it to begin with,poured a hazy-yellow color with extreme hoppy mown grass smell.Taste was a little piney,with definent hop overtones.A little malty in the background but in my opinion not quite balanced enough,a decent beer but maybe a bit overrated.

Juniper! The second I open this bottle my hot and humid kitchen becomes an alpine mountain side. I love it!

This could be dangerous, however, because sometimes beers with a juniper nose of this magnitude have an overly juniper or gin like taste. This is not something that I tend to enjoy since I am not, never have been, and god willing never will be a gin drinker. This doesnt necessarily kill a beer for me but it does reduce its drinkability.

Thankfully, the Alpha King delivers a taste of intense hops and chilled citrus instead of juniper berries. Im not sure how the good folks at Three-Floyds struck this balance, offering an uber bold scent while maintaining a smooth cool taste, but they did.

Also to its benefit, this beer is hyper drinkable. Despite its relative strength, I could polish off a sixer in a sitting and enjoy it.

This just might be the best APA Ive ever had. If its not, its darn close.

Pours a cloudy copper color with a small, off-white head that settles pretty quickly and doesn't leave too much lacing behind. Aroma is pretty strong and pungent right from the start; peppery, earthy, and raw, dirty hops come up and smack your nostrils hard. Heavy, heavy malt backdrop on this one, almost so much that it's hard to refer to it as just a "backdrop" - it's nearly as strong as the hops. Just front the nose, this one smells a little stronger than 6.66% ABV, I'm picking up some slightly warm alcohol notes behind everything else.

Alpha King hits the palate and seemingly evaporates in my mouth. Slick and medium bodied with a boat-load of carbonation that starts to fizzle away as soon as it touches my tongue. Pungent grapefruit rind is the first flavor to pop into my head - raw, bittersweet, and certainly unadulterated. Some spicy, herbal, and leafy hops dance around the thick malt underlaying, full of ever-so-slightly toasted caramel malts. White pepper crowds the aftertaste, finishing alongside a light bitterness. A sweet, bready flavor sits heavy on all edges of the mouth - noticeable even minutes after having taken a sip. As strong as the hop punch is, the malt is nearly as dominant in this beer.

A nice tasty concoction of malt and hops, heavy on both and not holding back from much. Doesn't taste much like an APA, rather I think this one is more deserving of a malty IPA title. Either way, it's pretty drinkable and goes down easily. Maybe a tad overrated in my opinion, but good nonetheless.

A: AKPA has an amber color when not held to light and a ruby-orange color when held to light. I find it to be a beautiful hue. A light khaki head sits at a finger and a half from a medium pour into a snifter. A full-covering film retains nicely, with scallion-like circles residing in it. Sleek, stringy carbonation bubbles move at a mezzo pace up the glass. The lacing is so good - sticky with fine hieroglyphic patterns all over the glass.

S: Big citrus aromas of orange, grapefruit, and a hint of lime blend with a subdued caramel malt presence and a dry, biscuity yeast scent. A dry, piney hop aroma also emanates from the beer.

T: Those dry, piney hops ride my palate for the length of the sip, supported by grapefruit and an inkling of caramel. The caramel sweetness and an orange flavor linger on my tongue past each swallow, then are trumped by grapefruit and pine hop dryness that has serious staying power. I am pretty astounded by how dry and bitter AK is. It is certainly the the king of PAs in term of bitterness, so much so that it almost tastes like it was aged in oak barrels.

M: In a word: puckering. The feel is medium bodied overall with just about the right carbonation. The bitterness sort of turns the MF into a one-dimensional feel.

D: I will be seeking this out again. This is the second Three Floyds beer that I have imbibed, and I am blown away so far. I knock this down just a notch because the bitterness detracts from session-ability a little bit, which I find to be a key component of a pale ale.

Thin head evaporates to surface mottling over dark, brownish-amber beer. Nose is fruity and piney hops. Alpha indeed. This beer is straight up bitter. It may be the bitterest beer I've ever had. Deeply resinous with bigearthy/ cinnemon in finish. Mouthfeel is thick and sticky.

This is a well-made brew but not my style. I'm way more into FFF's Gumballhead, which I consider an IPA also (though it is wheat-based), and showcases Amarillo hop flavor beautifully.

T/M: dry and grassy up front, followed by a medium body and a touch of sugar. grapefruit, citrus, soft and stinky cheese. more husky grain and bread. finishes with a lingering dryness and grainy mouthfeel. coating but coarse. carbonation is crisp and lively.

D: very enjoyable. very very enjoyable. 6% is a bit high for such a drinkable and flavorful brew. wish i could get all the time, would be happy to purchase repeatedly. cheers.